Vissel Kobe vs Kawasaki Frontale

J1 League title hopefuls Vissel Kobe and former champions Kawasaki Frontale are set to square off in a mouth-watering fixture at the Noevir Stadium.

Vissel Kobe’s quest to win a first-ever J1 League title is going according to plan. A come-from-behind 2-1 home win over Sagan Tosu last time out didn’t just make it four league games without losing on the trot (W3, D1) but also helped them leapfrog Yokohama F. Marinos at the league summit. With a game in hand on the reigning champions, ‘Ushi’ are in pole position to conquer the division without standout performer Andres Iniesta, who called time on his five-year stint in Japan earlier this month. Takayuki Yoshida’s men have gone from strength to strength at home lately, clocking up an eye-catching five wins in their last six league outings at the Noevir Stadium (D1), noticeably netting 2+ goals in each victory.

Despite experiencing an underwhelming domestic campaign, Kawasaki Frontale won’t go down without a fight, especially after going from two straight league games without winning (D1, L1) to back-to-back victories ‘to nil.’ Stranded in 7th place at the start of this round, the visitors sit seven points adrift of 3rd-placed Nagoya Grampus, highlighting the significance of building on their recent renaissance. However, an abysmal away form threatens to knock them off their perch, with stringing together four J1 League travels without a victory (D1, L3) before a hard-fought 1-0 triumph at non-other than Yokohama F. Marinos last time out. Toru Oniki’s men have found the away goals hard to come by lately, last bagging 2+ goals on a top-flight travel in April!